Britain Releases Bin Laden's 'Right Hand Man'

Islamist cleric Abu Qatada, who was once described as Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe, was released from a British prison Monday, AFP reported.

Qatada, who is fighting extradition to Jordan, will have to obey a 22-hour-a-day curfew at his home in London. The 51-year-old is considered a serious risk to Britain's national security. He was convicted in his absence in Jordan of involvement in terror attacks in 1998.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Britain cannot deport Qatada to his homeland because evidence used against him in any trial there may have been obtained through torture.